For the first time ever, interim will take place in April

As Christmas break quickly approaches, Wofford students and faculty will be experiencing a quicker turnaround than a normal year would entail. The spring semester will begin on Jan. 3, when students will be heading to normal classes rather than transitioning back to campus with just one interim class for the month of January.

Despite this abnormal spring semester, some students have spoken optimistically of the change.

Murphy O’Shields ’21 voiced her excitement for the April interim, saying, “it’s something different and it’s kind of special for all the seniors to get a chance to get to spend one last month together before going our separate ways.”

O’Shields plans to participate in an on-campus interim class to “spend every last minute at Wofford.” The senior also added that the spring weather “will be pretty,” which will “provide more outdoor activities for the on-campus interims.”

Ware Martin ’23 also expressed anticipation for the delayed interim.

“I think the spring interim will be a cool change of pace. Being able to have a more relaxed school environment during the summer will definitely be tons more fun, especially without having to worry about academics as soon as interim ends.”

The 2021 April interim has the same structure of classes and internship opportunities, including the abroad interims. Yet, for a small group of seniors that were planning on graduating in January, the interim shift may present an unexpected rift in their plans.

Alva K. Anderson, professor and chair of religion and interim coordinator, spoke on this minor change for those students.

“These students were planning on graduating in January, after completing the interim, and Wofford is not going to penalize them and make them graduate in May because of our need to flip interim and spring term due to the pandemic.”

Despite this minor change for a relatively miniscule number of students, the 2021 interim will have a similar setup to the typical January interim. It will have a similar variety of learning experiences for students on-campus, as well as internships and traveling interims across the U.S. and around the globe.